Restore Act would create jobs

Tuesday

Nov 13, 2012 at 12:24 PM

With billions of dollars in oil spill fines set to pay for restoration projects in the coming decade, local environmental and industry officials say the money could have a big impact on south Louisiana’s economy.

Nikki BuskeyStaff Writer

With billions of dollars in oil spill fines set to pay for restoration projects in the coming decade, local environmental and industry officials say the money could have a big impact on south Louisiana’s economy.A report released this summer and prepared by Mather Economics, an economic consulting firm for the Greater New Orleans Regional Economic Alliance and the Walton Family Foundation, found that the Restore Act could create more than 57,600 Gulf Coast jobs over 50 years.Lin Kiger, executive director of the Lafourche Parish Chamber of Commerce, said local parishes are geographically situated to take advantage of those dollars. Lafourche and Terrebonne are often called ground zero for coastal erosion in the state.Under the Clean Water Act, BP can be fined from $1,000 to $4,300 per barrel leaked after the deadly explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in 2010. That could add up to fines of between $5 billion and $20 billion, a significant investment in long-awaited coastal restoration projects in Louisiana.The study looked at the potential economic impact of $25 billion in oil spill fines dedicated to coastal restoration projects in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida over the next 50 years.The study found the Restore Act could result in the creation of 57,697 new jobs, an average of about 1,549 new jobs per year.The money would promote job growth in industries such as transportation and utilities, government, hospitality, business services, construction, retail and manufacturing. Those jobs would have a wide range of wages between $13,334 and $54,471 per year, according to the report.Money for restoration projects will also be coming from the Natural Resource Damage Assessment process, which is designed to study the impact the oil spill had on natural resources and create a environmental restoration plan to counter it. BP must pay for that restoration.Scott Kirkpatrick, president of the Coast Builders Coalition, cited a report put out by the Associated General Contractors of America in regards to the stimulus package as an example of how the Restore Act and related coastal restoration money could impact business in south Louisiana.They estimated that for every $1 billion in infrastructure dollars, 7,000 to 8,000 jobs would be directly created. Another 3,000 indirect jobs would be created to service those jobs.In addition, when those jobs bring businesses, new employees and their money into communities, another 11,500 jobs are created when those workers and business owners spend in the local community.Coastal restoration projects are similar to other large-scale infrastructure projects such as roads and bridges, meaning many highly trained professional people are needed to get these projects off the ground. That includes everyone from biologists to special nursery owners who grow the needed wetland grasses, said Simone Maloz, executive director of Restore or Retreat, a coastal advocacy group in Thibodaux. There must also be civil engineers and people who specialize in land acquisition. Construction companies are hired to build the project, and that involves everyone from engineers overseeing the project to the person operating the dredge.With major dollars looming on the horizon to pay for coastal restoration projects, there’s an increasing interest in getting into the industry, Maloz said.There are already major firms in Terrebonne and Lafourche that are heavily involved in coastal restoration, such as T. Baker Smith and Shaw Coastal engineering firms in Houma, said Drake Pothier, president of the Houma-Terrebonne Chamber of Commerce.Since money for huge hurricane protection projects began entering the area after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, more maritime and oil and gas companies have begun transferring their talents to that arena, Kirkpatrick said. They have the skills to participate in restoration work too, he said.Before Hurricane Katrina, coastal protection and restoration businesses were working with about $100 million to $200 million a year in projects. That budget has exploded to almost $2 billion in projects per year.“History shows the people of Terrebonne are innovative, and we have a lot of entrepreneurs,” said Pothier said. “There are a lot of businesses here that could take on that charge and take advantage of it.”Maloz said she’s heard the number of restoration jobs in the state has risen from 5,000 to 40,000 in just a few years.In comparison, the state boasts about 30,000 oil and gas jobs, Maloz said.“The demand right now exceeds the supply, so I can’t even imagine what it might be like in the future,” Maloz said.But such a boom could also cause problems. Local industries already battle a scarcity of skilled workers and housing. And most coastal restoration projects are contracted work.“If we attract these trained, educated folks, can we keep them here?” Maloz said. “Can we bring those who aren’t trained to do these jobs, train them and sustain it?”In addition, it is unknown when oil spill fines will be settled and sent to the Gulf. But the state has committed to a $50 billion plan for coastal restoration and hurricane protection over the next 50 years, Kirkpatrick said, meaning even if the state has to cobble together money, restoration should continue to be a big business in the future.